After much anticipation....

Baby Jude has arrived!

We are so excited for his arrival - congrats Anna and Jeff! xoxo

Five Fridays until Christmas!

My Friday small business/gift idea I want to share with you today is called The Tea Sanctuary. We have ordered teas from here and they are fantastic! It's a toss-up which one is my favorite - the Lemon Lover Tea or the Fatigue Relief Tea - they are so good!

Tea Sanctuary

If you know someone who loves to drink tea this is a great gift!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a wonderful thanksgiving with our family this year. My aunt, uncle and cousins came in from Grand Rapids, our local family and a few friends joined us at my mom's. We tried for a family picture - below is the best we got:

Lucas was not happy...

Love the above pic of Nate and Aidan and of course the one below of A...

I actually didn't take many pictures - we were having so much fun! I did manage to get a picture of myself with my childhood friend who came to dinner, Charyl. It was so fun catching up. She has two amazing boys - Aidan had so much fun with them.

I started out sad missing my dad and ended up happy having spent time with family and friends. Overall it was a wonderful day.

Little Fish...

Aidan has been taking swimming lessons at Galter Life Fitness Center at Swedish. He absolutely LOVES it. He is such a little fish. The class has at most 5 kids in it so he gets lots of one-on-one. I am amazed at how much they have taught him already - he is doing freestyle and back stroke!

He has been a great swimmer since he was two - I hope he keeps this love of swimming!

Happy Birthday Kacie!

Happy Birthday Kacie - we love you so much and are so glad we are able to spend so much time with you! I am so excited for you future - this next year is going to be a great one for you! xoxo

Festival of Lights

So we tried. We had good intentions...but what were we thinking? We decided on Saturday night to go down to Michigan Ave for the Festival of Lights. We headed down around 4:30 p.m. on the train....this was our view:

So we didn't see much of the parade, but honestly the boys didn't mind. Lucas was so excited just to be on the train...

and Aidan got a glow in the dark light saber - he was set!

Overall we had a lot of fun. Anna was a trooper and came with us - she's ready to have that baby any day! I think next year we will head down there earlier and make a day of it.

Only six?

Did you know that there are only six Fridays until Christmas?

Sorry to freak you out.

The truth is that we keep Christmas pretty simple around here. We don’t break the bank. The boys definately get something special, but not over the top.

We want to make Christmas about more than just getting presents. Nate and I both had family traditions that we remember so fondly from our childhood. I want those new traditions that we are starting in our home to be what our boys remember. The true meaning of Christmas and why we celebrate. I want them to learn about giving - they already know all about receiving! I want them to have that warm, fuzzy feeling that I get when I think about Christmas Eve, sitting around with my family in our new warm PJ's, sipping egg nog or hot cocoa, watching my Dad's train around the tree. Getting to maybe open just one present on Christmas Eve...just being together as a family.

This year we are trying our best to buy local, small business or homemade...or even make it ourselves! It means more. At least to me.

There are so many creative and brilliant small businesses and independent artists that it would be a shame not to support them and let them know we value their work.

For the next six Fridays I will be sharing some Christmas gift picks all from small business and handmade artists.

Today is for all of those little ones in your life!

I LOVE this fair trade tic tac toe game - so cute! When I am looking for a unique gift I often go to Esty.com. You can find this adorable set for $15.99 right here: Tic Tac Toe

Aidan loves to cook with me. I swear that is why he is such a good eater - he is always more willing to try something that he has helped me make. His "Nana" gave him an apron with his name on it that he loves. Here are some cute ones that you can personalize for that little chef in your life: Apron

And my favorite DIY project is below...Aidan wants to make this crayon wreath for his teacher (shhh! don't tell her!). Aidan loves doing art projects and this one will be so fun to do together.

So if you have some time and have never checked out Etsy.com go check it out. You may be surprised at what you find!